Solar energy economics—the a priori decision

Abstract The initial decision concerning the economic viability of a solar energy heating system is shown to involve technical, physical, meteorological, geographic, design and cost factors as well as the source of funding and type of arrangements made to finance the system. Four economic/technical models, which include the influence of increasing fuel costs, are presented and compared with other possible kinds of investments to determine the economic viability of the system. It is found that different economic conclusions are both possible and justifiable for investment situations having different constraints.